On November 23, a #tfwf14 classmate of mine, @hamilt35, posted an article on twitter. “Classroom innovators: the Twitter teacher,” by “The Irish Times.” As I have discussed the importance of “Zite” in my prior blog post “Educational Innovations,” here is another example of it’s asset to education. This article was posted on an Irish news website, on November 22, 2014, and without “Zite,” would have never made it to my computer screen. Zite is not the only application providing a positive academic resource, Twitter is also implemented into classrooms all around the world.
Teachers are learning how to shape their curriculum around new technologies that their students are using. This process helps teachers engage their student’s conscious effort, attention, and participation. Any college student in Rowan Universities’ Introduction to Writing Arts course, #tfwf14 #tfebt, could explain how Twitter can be used as an academic asset and an educational resource. Now, there is evidence world wide of Twitter’s positive influence on a classroom, as well as, the student’s success.
The article “Classroom innovators: the Twitter teacher,” explains the process of how Twitter can be utilized in an academic setting. “For a typical class, groups of students are asked to research a topic online and then to start tweeting facts in chronological order. He monitors quality, deleting misspelt or out-of-sequence tweets. He then uses Storify to grade and document the tweets. The groups have a sense of researching like historians, he says.” His lessons are structured around the established use of Twitter in the classroom. This creates a positive way for students to use their cellphones in class, therefore, combining the educational information of the History class with the common interests of the students. Essentially providing an efficient way for teachers to obtain their student’s effort and dedication.Porter and DeVoss express the influence of new technology on writing. “New economies of writing are emerging that promise to carry writing practices in directions that are not yet clear but which will have significant impact on basic literacy.” (Porter, DeVoss, page 195). Twitter influences student’s writing in the classroom. Instead of writing their notes on paper, the chalk board, or typing them on a computer, Twitter has provided an user friendly interface. The respond rate is almost instantaneous, allowing students to observe their classmates ideas. Twitter remediates word documents, pen and paper, and even the chalk board, because the teacher and students can read and respond to the individual comment, or post. Bolter defines remediation as “homage and rivalry, for the new medium, but also makes an implicit or explicit claim to improve the older one.” (page 23). Twitter and Zite are two new educational applications, that offer an academic resource for students of ages. Implementing student’s interests into a lesson plan can derive enveloped participation and academic success.

I was recently introduced to a new educational technology, “Zite.” Zite now has an influence on my research processes. This application is an academic resource for discovering and obtaining new educational information. For me, it has replaced news websites, and television channels. What is Bolter’s ideology of remediation and new technologies? “Remediation involves both homage and rivalry, for the new medium, but also makes an implicit or explicit claim to improve the older one.” (Bolter, page 23). Zite offers a user friendly interface, based on educational and personal interests important to the individual. Therefore, Zite essentially eliminates aimless scrolling and wasted time. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t need more hours in a day?

I probably would have never read this article if it wasn’t for Zite. I did not have to research websites or search engines, I just opened my Zite application on my iPhone and there it was. On November 19, 2014, Keith Sawyer published an article titled, “Ten Educational Innovations To Watch For In The Next Ten Years.”
“Education experts at the Open University (UK) led by Professor Mike Sharples, have identified ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education.” (Sawyer). The influence on education is existent, but not defined. According to Porter and DeVoss, “New economies of writing are emerging that promise to carry writing practices in directions that are not yet clear but which will have significant impact on basic literacy.” (Porter, DeVoss, page 195). Though the technologies educational resources and academic assets are not yet evident, it does not mean that they will never be.

Ten Educational Innovations:

1.) Massive open social learning: social networking

2.) Learning design informed by analytics: “design and analytics work together to support the development of successful learning and teaching.”

3.) Flipped classrooms: Video lectures, allow students to work at their pace, pausing to make notes when necessary.

4.) Burn your own devices: “teachers become managers of technology-enabled networked learners, rather than providers of resources and knowledge.”

5.) Learning to learn: Web tools/activities such as reflective journals and concept mapping support learning to learn.

6.) Dynamic assessment: The assessor interacts with students during testing, ways to overcome each person’s current learning difficulties.

For years and years I thought I was a night owl. I loved to stay up and out late, either having fun or working on projects. More recently I discovered that I am not a night owl, but in fact a morning person. Even though I was up late, I wasn’t being productive on my projects. I was working on them well into the evening due to my procrastination. I began to get up early to complete my projects and felt significantly more ambitions, focused and productive.

Last week I saw this article and tweeted it to share with my fellow #tfwf14 classmates:

My first reponse: Does Hazma Kahn know me? Is he watching me? This is my life!

Kahn’s article “Don’t Waste Your Two Golden Hours of Productivity” him home for me. I fall into the category that Kahn gives data on, that “80 percent of 18- to 44-year-olds who check their smartphones” as soon as they get up. My smartphone has replaced my alarm clock, so it is the first thing I touch in the morning.

First I check Facebook, followed by Instagram, then Twitter and finally email. All before my feet have hit the floor and I have to agree with Kahn that we need to avoid this habit. He states that “the problem with jumping right into our inboxes and notifications is that it steers your morning off-course”. I get very distracted and behind in my morning routine when I pick up my phone. So I decided to give it a try, to leave my phone on the night stand when I got out of bed.

I spent the 90 minutes of my morning feeling as though I was missing something, but I was more focused on the tasks that needed to be completed and able to successfully complete them all. I found my morning flowing along smoothly without having to rush because I was behind on the time. I could get used to this!

Now, I wish I could say that I was able to keep this routine and I’ve been tremendously successful in being on time and maintaining my easy-flowing mornings. If I did, I’d be lying. What I have done, is limited my time on my phone in the morning. I check social media and then put the phone down. Emails are put off until I arrive at work. I couldn’t quit cold turkey, I’m not a quitter.

This blog brings up an excellent point regarding the curriculum taught in schools in relation to the standardized testing that is now required of children. “Developing diverse gifts and talents of many students is lost in such procedures and is not helped by the inevitable narrowing of the curriculum by teaching to the standards” according to the blog. Not only are teachers forced to teach to the test, most times that results in their need to exclude subjects such as art and music, where children are most prone to show their creative side. However, creativity is not just for the arts, creativity is relevant to any and all subjects when children are able to express themselves.

The blog goes on to state that “it is a creative culture, not obsessive testing and formulaic teaching that is the answer – culture counts”. Bruce, the author of this blog even includes the lyrics to the popular Pink Floyd song Another Brick in the Wall, “teacher leave that kid alone – we don’t need your mind control”. Is it really the teachers who are controlling the kids, or are they merely acting on direction from the government? (I’ll save that argument for another time, another blog post.)

By creating a creative culture, teachers and students alike are able face learning in a way that works best for them, not the general population. Teachers need the freedom to teach their students the way they are able to learn. Students need to be able to express their interests and pursue subjects creatively, and not just the subjects that are required for testing. Both of these ideas will foster a creative learning environment where both students and teachers benefit.

Once we create this culture, a new attitude toward learning will be formed. The lack of pressure applied to students will allow them to relax and engage in the learning environment rather than feeling rushed to get through massive amounts of material in a short period of time. Teachers will not feel as though they have been through the wringer at the end of the year from running the marathon of instruction prior to test season. Call me crazy, but if teachers are happy and students are happy, won’t great things come of it?

When I was a child, and we won’t discuss how long ago that way, we used a pencil and paper to record our thoughts. As a little girl I had a diary, complete with lock and key that I kept hidden in my bedroom. Many of my friends had them as well and that was supposed to be a safe haven or protected area for your deepest thoughts and secrets. At least until our parents suspected something and found them. That usually did not end well.

Fast forward to today and the diary has evolved to include neither paper nor pencil. Following suit with other means of writing, the diary has gone digital and be accessed right on your smartphone. The app Momento allows you to record your thoughts anywhere, requiring nothing but the cell phone you most likely already had with you. This allows us to record our experiences in the moment, instead of after they have already occurred when important details can be overlooked and difficult to recall. This app remediates the need to keep our thoughts, adventures and secrets on paper, where they can be found and used against us (if necessary). There is far more protection on a smartphone, and this app, with a pass code than my old diary ever had (my mom used to open mine with a pair of scissors).

In Momento, you can input information on the current day or go back and input on days that have already passed. The key feature in this app is that you can connect it to your social media accounts, and input your locations whenever you check-in to a place. When you tag friends, those friends are included in the event as well. Photos can be attached as well as tags relating categories to the event. Most importantly, Momento simplifies the time previously required to record events. It also provides a searchable log of either your day-to-day activities or annual family vacations. The choice is yours, simply based on how you choose to use the app.

With such a vast array of social media sites to link to, you are sure to never miss an adventure, vacation, or Saturday in the city because you forgot to write it in your journal. Momento even has a programmable reminder so that you don’t forget to take a picture or enter a daily log of events.

This app been quite popular in the past, earning the “iPhone App of the Year” Runner-up award in 2011 and continues to update its interface to make the user’s experience easier and more enjoyable.

Momento is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and is $2.99 on the Apple App Store.

On December 4, 2014, Brooks Barnes of The New York Times, posted an article titled “Disney to Introduce New Apps Focused on Learning.” To a college student studying new technologies influence on writing, learning, and education, this title jumped off the page, and captivated my attention. However, due to my current use of new literary technologies, this metaphor is relatively obsolete. Now I have to say, jumped off the “screen,” because the article by Barnes was not posted in The New York Times newspaper. It was posted on The New York Times website, with no subscription or purchase necessary. If this is not supporting evidence of technologies influence on writing, than what is?

The New York Times website is an evident example of technological remediation. Defined by Bolter, “Remediation involves both homage and rivalry, for the new medium, but also makes an implicit or explicit claim to improve the older one.” (page 23). Do The New York Times’ online articles improve their newspaper? If I were to answer this question I would say absolutely. The networking capabilities of the Internet created an efficient and accessible news station. Ask my grandfather the same question and he won’t dignify a response. Though there are assets and complications to both sides of the news publishing processes, the importance lies with The New York Times “implicit or explicit claim to improve the older one.” (Bolter, page 23).

As well as The New York Times, Disney has had an essential influence on the public for multiple generations. Disney’s’ intentions to implement positive learning applications are similar to the progressional effort of The New York Times, and the creation of their website. They should not be viewed negatively, and according to Barnes, “Disney Publishing Worldwide unveiled a technology-driven learning initiative called Disney Imagicademy. Aimed at families with children aged 3 to 8.” The use of technology has substantially increased in children, and Disney is taking a positive advantage by providing a “learning” resource. “The media conglomerate is being careful to describe the initiative as learning and not educational,” due to “harshly criticized marketing claims tied to its Baby Einstein line.” (Barnes). Porter and DeVoss offer some support for Disney’s effort. “New economies of writing are emerging that promise to carry writing practices in directions that are not yet clear but which will have significant impact on basic literacy.” (page 195).

Disney’s application’s “significant impact on basic literacy” is yet to be defined. Though there intentions are clearly positive and progressional. Barnes explains, “Disney developed Imagicademy in conjunction with advisers like Douglas H. Clements, an expert on early childhood mathematics from the State University of New York at Buffalo.” “Imagicademy will include more than 30 app-based “experiences” centered on various subjects – math, science, language arts, emotional and social skills.” (Barnes).There are a vast variety of applications available to children, and Disney is trying to provide an app. that derives a learning process from it’s users. An unsurmountable amount of applications need parents to consciously consider the hindering interference they have on their child’s education and ability to learn. Bolter explains that the effort of improvement is the important property (page 23). “This is a substantial commitment,” Bob Chapek, president of Disney Consumer Products, said in an interview.” (Barnes). Disney’s conscious effort and commitment is clear. Imagicademy, was developed based on “learning,” and should be the last application ridiculed, as well as, accused of deceit.

Account customization is essential to the individuality of the user. The “Favorite” questionnaire is implemented to influence the categories, genres, formats, and other users, the applicant is connected with. Spin Me a Story is a new literary technology, constructed as an educational resources, to increase the users’ interest and enthusiasm in writing.

__________________________________________KYLIE T:

Bolter said that some educators imagine a classroom in which books are replaced by virtual environments. Spin Me a Story has the capability to create student and teacher accounts. Having the option to create two different types of accounts will allow the user to personalize their creative writing experience. After creating a username and password, as Adam previously showed, a page will pop up asking what type of account you want to create.

On this page, there will be two options to choose from; “I am a student” or “I am a teacher.” If the user clicks the button “I am a student,” they will then be taken to a page where they can select their age, grade, and if this is for a school project, a class meeting, or for a fun creative writing experience. The app will provide developmentally appropriate words to the student depending on the age and grade they select.

If the user clicks “I am a teacher,” they will be directed to a page that asks them if they want to create a class code. The teacher will have the ability to leave comments on the student’s drafts, give suggestions, or only allow the students with a class code spin a certain genre.

After the type of account is selected, the user will be directed to a page where they have the option to sync their work to social media. As Porter and DeVoss state, the act of writing is fundamentally collaborative and social. The user will be able to ‘share’ their spins and final work via these social media sites to show their peers and parents/guardians what they are writing and drawing about.

From here, a page will pop up asking the user to select the type of story they plan to write about. There is always the option to pick a new style. The available styles include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, a memoir, letter, blog post, newsletter, and songwriting. Like Bolter said, digital technology changes the look and feel of writing, and Spin Me a Story does just this (pg. 24).

___________________________________________________________

ASHLEY M:

Bolter discusses the use of technology in education, and the role of computers in the writing process. Using this app, students are using the computer directly to produce a creative writing piece that can be accessed from anyplace at anytime. From here, students will be asked to choose a theme for their story. Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure, and Sci-Fi are just some of the options available.

Once a genre catches the student’s attention, they are free to click their favorite, and begin spinning and choosing words that will be incorporated into their creative story. A picture representing the chosen genre will pop up, making sure students chose the correct theme. Once chosen, students will click “begin” to spin for story words.

Now the fun part begins! Students will press the slot machine “SPIN” button to spin all four word and phrase categories. Each category focuses on a different subject, action, description, and so on. A full sentence is created when the categories are read from left to right. Here we have, “Write an email to a tricky princess who can fly.”

If the student doesn’t like a word or phrase they have been given, they can choose to spin again in one or more categories. Instead of writing about a tricky princess, they might spin to write about a tricky frog. They have unlimited spins until they finally land on something they like. This student spun to write a report about a silly frog who can skate.

Prior to beginning the writing of the story, the student is given the option to have a bonus word or a picture prompt to help them further their story. At this point they are able to rate the creativity level of the words obtained from the spin. If they aren’t sure about the choices they have been given, they can check to see if they represent an appropriate creativity level based on their age and grade they entered earlier in the app. They can skip this page if they choose not to use these options.

The student then has the option to continue with their prompt, or spin again to start over with a whole new set of prompts. This is beneficial when the student receives a set of prompts that are familiar to a story that they already know. This choice reduces the possibility of plagiarism should the student copy that story and attempt to use it as their own. DeVoss and Porter express this idea in their statement that “we must renegotiate our personal and institutional approaches to plagiarism”.

Several different writing formats are available as Kylie previously mentioned. When the student chooses to continue with their prompts, they will advance to this screen. They simply click on the format they want and are taken to a template to begin writing their chosen piece. This is an example of what Bolter referred to when he said “digital technology changes the ‘look and feel’ of writing and reading”. Pre-populated templates eliminate the need for design and construction of blogs, newsletters, etc.

Here is one example of the formats available, the newsletter template. To enter text or upload a photo, the student simply clicks on the appropriate box. Each of these, as well as the other templates provide the criteria that Tim O’Reilly outlines in regard to Web 2.0. He stated that “only a small percentage of users will go to the trouble of adding value to your application”. Therefore, by creating templates with pre-populated fields, users can input information without having to re-create the wheel.

This is another example of available formats, the blog template. Here, students are able to input not only text, but photos as well, similar to the newsletter template. This example also follows O’Reilly’s criteria in regard to the values of user input. In order to be competitive in the app market, users should be able to “add their own data to that which you provide”. With these templates, students can input any and all data they chose in various formats.

________________________________________________________________

SAM R

The idea of remediation, introduced by Bolter in an article called “Writing in the late age of print”, is when a new technology replaces an old one. Our app transformed the classic format of notebook writing into an organized, user-friendly template. When a user selects this template, their ideas can be saved to wherever they want. Papers easily become messy and lost, an app will stay in your pocket wherever you go.

The “Draw me a Story” snapshot demonstrates an extremely unique function of our app. A user can draw a picture on the screen Microsoft Paint style or they can upload their own picture from their camera roll. Our picture feature promotes creativity and allows users to act on inspiration as it occurs. Images users form while writing will never disappear again.

When organizing the gallery, users are able to categorize their works into different folders. It is an easy way for users to separate different ideas or genres from the other. There is even an option of allowing works to remain uncategorized, which lets the user have more creative control. The user can alter the names and the amount of the categories as well.

Combining texts with images have been extremely popular amongst our culture. In an article called “Becoming Screen Literate” by Kevin Kelly, the author writes about how images are becoming extremely well liked by users. Our app allows users to keep texts separate from pictures, combine pictures with texts, or to just paint a picture. It is a functional way to express creativity.

In an article by DeVoss and Porter’s article titled, “Why Napster matters to writing” the authors explain the importance of balance between recognition and ethics. When a user shares a piece of work from the Gallery to social media, our app gives credit where credit is due. Also, during this sharing process, other members of social media are able to experience new works and technology. Our app has found the balance by rewarding both the author and the audience.

In this article, the information presented for new technologies influence on students, was obtained through a teacher survey. Richtel explained that, “the researchers note that their findings represent the subjective views of teachers and should not be seen as definitive proof.” (page 1). However, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, states that the “teacher’s views were subjected but nevertheless could be accurate in sensing dwindling attention spans among students.” (Richtel, page 4).

In Turkle’s article, “Who Am We?” an excerpt from her book, “Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet,” she explains “ how computers are not just changing our lives but changing ourselves.” (page 3). According to Vicky Rideout’s research, discussed in Richtel’s article, “media use among children and teenagers ages 8 to 18 has grown so fast that they on average spend twice as much time with screens each year as they spend in school.” (page 1). New technologies have an influence on students’ academic careers, as well as, their lives outside of the classroom. The teacher’s that were surveyed said that, “technology was as much as a solution as a problem.” (Richtel, page 3).Therefor, efficient implementations and conscious adaptions are essential to the technologies’ educational resources, and the students academic success. This is a clarion call for a healthy and balanced media diet,” said Jim Steyer, the chief executive of Common Sense Media. (Richtel, page 3).

“The internet links million of people in new spaces that are changing the way we think and the way we form our communities.” (Turkle, page 3). Technologies within a classroom can become a positive asset, or a negative interference. The associate director for Pew Surveys, Kristen Purcell said, “that the education system must adjust to better accommodate the way students learn.” (Richtel, page 2). Dave Mendell, a forth grade teacher, supports Purcell’s ideology of adapting teaching processes to accommodate the way students learn. “Educational video games and digital presentations were excellent ways to engage students on their terms.” (page 3). Other teachers that participated in the survey explained that “they were using more dynamic and flexible teaching styles.” (Richtel, page 3). In an educational setting, an accommodating teaching style is nothing new. The evidence is expressed in the introduction of ESL (English is a Second Language) programs, to understanding the differences between visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. Is there a difference between involving the three different learning styles and introducing the beneficial use of new technologies in an academic lesson? Or is the evolution of educational technologies progressing; producing new obstacles, outdating older technologies, under constant revision, and in a state of acceptance or rejection?

When Turkle discussed computers as a technology, she said “allow us to cycle through cyberspace and real life, over and over. Windows allow us to be in several contexts at the same time.” (page 3). This introduces the main controversial aspect involving the computers influence on it’s users, and therefor the computer’s influence on students. The acceptance argument is “that the Internet and search engines had a mostly positive impact on student research skills, (…), such tools had made students more self-sufficient researchers.” (Richtel, page 2). Whereas the rejection argument is “that digital technologies were creating an easily distracted generation with short attention spans.” (Richtel, page 2). “Windows have become a powerful metaphor for thinking about the self as a multiple, distributed system. The life practice of windows is that of a decentered self that exists in many worlds, that plays many roles at the same time.” (Turkle, page 3). However an agreement can be made by both sides, students are easily distracted, which makes it difficult for teachers to captivate their attention, conscious effort, and constant engagement.(Richtel, pages 1-3). Dr. Christakis said “students saturated by entertainment media, were experiencing a supernatural stimulation that teachers might have to keep up with or simulate. The heavy technology use makes reality by comparison uninteresting.” (Richtel, page 4).

When used in moderation outside of school, as well as, monitored within the classroom, computers can become an accepted academic resource and a successful educational technology.

Vine is a phenomenon that is both fast and funny, two characteristics that our culture has grown to become extremely fond of.

If you have not yet experienced the whirlwind that is Vine, let me expose it to you: click herefor 6 seconds of entertainment

See? Wasn’t that fun? It was fast so you can get back to your hectic life and it also produced a little chuckle. You’re not the only one who thinks it was fun; an article called “Six Seconds of Loopy Creativity and Millions of Fans” by the New York Times praises Vine and comments on how it is taking over the public’s feeds. Instead of going to Instagram or Twitter, users are choosing Vine for a multitude of reasons. First of all, Vine combines YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter in a more user-friendly way. Instead of watching a 5 minute video on YouTube, users are getting the punchline 10x faster. Instead of sifting through tweets, users are getting the main idea immediately. Instead of seeing a picture, users are experiencing the action.

The article by the New York Times describes Vine as “the early web- low stakes, raw, and full of reckless abandon” and the author is exactly right. Vine users will complete any task, no matter how ridiculous, in order to entertain viewers. In fact, the phrase “do it for the Vine” has become popular due to the Vine’s infamous actions.

Vine is just an example of how apps are in competition to gain titles such as craziest, most creative, or wildest. Notice, however, that has been a competition amongst apps. The Web, on the other hand, is slowly losing its following. It is a common mistake for users to believe spending hours on Vine, Instagram, or Pandora is considered “surfing the Web”; in an article I tweeted called “The Web is Dead. Long Live the Internet” by Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff, the authors describe how Apps not only differentiate from the Web, but they are also are taking over. Although the switch from Web to Internet is not conscious or aggressive, it is surely happening. It’s not the Web’s fault, apps are just becoming more and more prominent in today’s society.

I mean, look at the difference between using Google and using Instagram:

In a world where apps such as Vine literally thrive off fun and entertainment, Google.com simply can’t compete.

With all of the technology available at our fingertips, it is easy to lose sight of human contact and every day communication with others.

Technology has a way of getting people to communicate behind a screen, which can be very detrimental to the way people work together in the classroom, workplace, and out in the “real” world. Many people argue that technology is hindering the creative learning process of students, but others say that creativity is sparked by technology and creative arts that interest the students in the classroom.

There is a universal push for STEM in many schools, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math. Nicky Morgan, the author of the article Creativity is the key to education, so why aren’t we pursuing it?, said that “the choice by pupils to study traditionally creative subjects, the humanities and arts, would in fact restrict their career choices.” STEM gives students the ability to study and focus on the “non-traditional” topics that are usually studied in school.

“Creativity in schools isn’t just restricted to the teaching of “creative” subjects; art, English etc. In fact even that definition of what subjects are creative is a misstatement of what creativity can mean,” (Morgan). A lot of the time, students lose their sense of creativity in the classroom because of a lack of interest in the topics being studied. Tailoring lessons too fit the needs and interests of the students in the classroom is one way to get creativity stirring. Once the students find a topic that interests them, they will be more likely to complete assignments and do something out-of-the-box. They will be less likely to hold back because they feel confident and comfortable with the subject matter.

Lessons can be tailored to fit any subject area, too. Sherry Turkle, in her article Who Am We? was showing creativity with her various nickname; she was able to change her identity and play off of them to fit what she was writing about. Like Turkle, if a teacher is presenting a history lesson to the class in a monotone way, the students will lose interest within five minutes, but when the teacher is enthusiastic about the material, the students will be more likely to be enthusiastic as well.